Social enterprise business plan
- a template
A business plan is a description of the social and economic activities you and your organization
want to perform.
A social enterprise has many stakeholders and the business plan is a good platform for dialogue
with all parties.
Guide
The plan is designed so it helps you to formulate the commercial side of the business where it is
about buying and selling a service or a product. At the same time, it helps you to formulate the
social side of the business.
The business plan is dynamic, so delete the items in the template that do not make any relevance
to your social enterprise and add items you miss in order to make your business plan complete.
Go change the world!
Content
1. Background information
2. Summary
3. The purpose of the social enterprise
4. Important partners
5. Revenue in the social enterprise
a. Pure commercial income
b. Social Economic income
6. Description of the company's customers
a. Commercial customers
b. The target group for social action
7. Sales and marketing
a. Commercial customers
b. Contact the target audience
8. Organization of the social enterprise
9. Documentation of social action
10. Budgets
11. Financing
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Front page
This is the front of your social enterprise business plan so state what the reader can expect from
this business plan. Remember at have good pictures of your target group or/and the product you
are going to sell.
Table of Contents
It should be easy for the reader to orientate in the plan and look up specific issues.
Background information
Information about the association / organization behind the business - if any.
Name of organization:
Address:
Zip:
City:
Website:
Tel. No.:
Business number:
e-mail:
The person / team behind the company:
Name:
Address:
Zip:
City:
Website:
Tel. No .:
e-mail:
Education:
Current work:
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Summary
The summary should give the reader a quick overview of your business idea and which social
challenge you are approaching. It should contain the most important information from the business
plan
The summary should be placed at the beginning of the business plan, but you should wait to write
till you have finished writing the whole business plan.
The summary may have the following main points:








Who am I / we / association / organization?
What is the purpose of the company?
What social value creates it and for whom?
What does the social enterprise sell?
Which and how many customers?
Revenue in the first year?
Profit in the first year?
Need financing?
The purpose of the social enterprise
In this section you should describe the underlying motive why people and organizations will spend
time and effort to work for this cause.
The social enterprise Town honey has this purpose: "Our mission is to establish a sustainable town
honey industry that creates new opportunities for people on the fringes of the labor market, making
the city healthier and more fertile and bring people of Copenhagen acquainted with the city's
natural habitat."
The purpose of the social enterprise:
We create social value for the following target groups:
We create social value to the target group in the following way:
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Important partners
A social enterprise has the advantage to ordinary commercial enterprises that many organizations
and individuals want to back up your business. Carefully selected partners and stakeholders can
make the difference between success and failure.
Which partners do you have or do you want to get?
Partners who can make a difference to our:
Primary target group:
Access to the public system - municipality / region / state:
Access to our commercial customers:
Products and services:
Marketing:
Finance and administration:
Legal issues:
Revenue for the company
The economic lifeblood of the social enterprise comes from the products and services it can sell.
Social enterprises also often have the opportunity to gain income from sponsors, funds,
membership etc.
Description of the income is divided into Pure commercial sales and the Social Economic income.
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Pure commercial sales
Elevator pitch / sales pitch - short descriptions of the social enterprise and its commercial
products:
The social enterprise sells the following products / product groups / services:
1:
2:
3:
The value our products/services give the customer groups / services:
1:
2:
3:
Products are different from competitors this way:
1:
2:
3:
Purchase frequency / lifetime of the product:
1:
2:
3:
Calculation of product / service:
Price ex. VAT
zz
- My purchase price/ cost xx
- Transport / customs etc yy
= My contribution margin vv
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Price for product:
My price
1:
Market price:
2:
3:
Name of the suppliers of the products:
Required stock:
Number / pieces / price:
The product is sold through the following channels:
The future prospect of our industry:
Social Economic income
The social enterprise sells the following solutions for the municipality / region / state:
1:
2:
3:
The most obvious foundations where you can apply for funding:
1:
2:
3:
The most obvious sponsors for our social enterprise:
1:
2:
3:
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Income from members of the support group:
Donations, grants or other possible revenue:
Description of the company's customers
Before you are able to perform sales or marketing efforts in the commercial market, it is necessary
to know all about your customers and their purchase pattern.
A social enterprise often has two "client groups":
 The commercial customers who buy your services or products and
 The target group for your social action.
Commercial customers
The typical private customer:
Man Woman:
Age:
Education:
Work:
Lifestyle:
The typical business customer:
Company Industry:
Size / employees:
Age:
Quantity:
Geographical limits:
In our country/region/municipality:
Abroad:
Realistic number of customers:
Reasons:
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Average consumption per. customer:
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Why does the customer buy your product?
The main parameters of competition on the market:
1:
2
3:
Assessment of the possibilities on the market:
Threats that can destroy the possibilities:
The main competitors:
1:
2:
The competitors' price of the product:
The competitors' distribution form:
Strengths and weaknesses of competitors:
Persona – the customer
(Give a description in prose of one or two typical individuals in the customer group. Give the
persona a name and age; describe his looks and dress stile, personal ambitions, problems and
challenges, interests and habits on social media. Preferably also add a photo)
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The target group for social action
The typical person in the target group:
Man Woman:
Age:
Education:
Social challenge:
Persona in the target group
(Give a description of one or two typical individuals in the target group that make a target group to
real people. Preferably with a photo)
The government agency/organization they are affiliated to:
Number in the target group:
What is done for the target group today:
Which organizations/ institution are working with the target group today:
On what points can you do better than the current players?
On the professional social level:
At the economic level:
Opportunities and threats in the legislation that may affect your efforts:
Sales and marketing
You have hopefully been very specific in your description of the customers. It will make the job with
sales and marketing much easier. If you know exactly who you want to contact is it easier to
choose the tools to use in your marketing and sales activities.
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Commercial customers
Ongoing sales and marketing activities:
Internet:
Social Media:
Direct Mail:
Customer visits:
Telephone sales:
Advertising:
Printed material:
Sign posts:
Presentation material:
Trade fair and exhibition:
Other advertising:
Networks
Who in your personal networks must be told that this social economic business exists?
Partners
Which partners can make contact to customers?
Annual costs for marketing:
Special marketing activity at opening:
Price on this market:
Public Relation (PR) at the opening of the company:
"History" to the reporter:
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Contact the target group
We have contact to the target group in the following way:
We cooperate with the target group in the following way:
Management & organisation
Describe here how your business is going to handle the administrative and practical day to day
work.
Name of business/address/phone no/ fax/ e-mail/ web:
Legal status of business:
Owners:
Bank:
Accountant:
Business policies:
Price policy:
Discount policy:
Method of payment:
Guarantee service:
Service:
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Staff policy:
Procedure for accountancy - and administrative routines:
Daily accounting:
Sales tax settling:
Send out accounts:
Follow up on unpaid accounts:
Wage settling:
Quarterly accounts:
Order goods:
Write letters to customers/business connections:
Telephone reception:
Insurance subscriptions:
(Industrial injury, trade responsibility, product, moveable, transport of goods, fire, house contents,
travels, frozen foods, computers etc)
Name of insurance company:
Prices:
Business partners /consultants:
Documentation of social action
When you start as a social enterprise you have also said that your company will perform a social
action for persons or communities. A way to prove to partners and other stakeholders that your
social enterprise makes a difference in the world you can use the below "Logical model ".
Input
What resources of money, staff and equipment go into the activity?
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Activity
Which activity is performed for the input of training, production and sales?
Output
What immediate social impact has the activity for the person, target group or community?
Outcome
What change has the output made on the target group seen in the long perspective – e.g. one to
two years after output?
Budgets
Budgets are used to find out the economic side of your business idea.
Using a budget template makes it possible to put figures on the plans you have described in the
previous paragraphs. The more concrete your work has been the easier it is to make budgets.
The budgets can help you to concretise your plans and ideas – so go back to your plans if the
budget shows that they are unrealistic – or vice versa.
Draw up at least the first two budgets as a part of the business plan.
Establishing budget
The establishing budget will show how much money you need to start your business. It is very
individual how much money a business needs to get started. Calculate what you need.
Download an establishing budget in excel-spread sheet from: www.dynamicbusinessplan.com
Operating budget
The operating budget shows the income and the costs you expect in the business when it is in
operation. The more precise you have made your plans the easier it is to draw up your operating
budget.
During your work with the operating budget you often have to go back and change your plans.
Download an operating budget in excel-spreadsheet from: www.dynamicbusinessplan.com
Liquidity / cash flow budget
The liquidity budget will monthly show whether you have money in the bank to pay the expenses
you know you will get.
It is easy to make the first two budgets if you have made a plan for your business. But it is much
more difficult to make a liquidity budget and often it often needs a helping hand from an
accountant.
Spend your time on the first two budgets and see if you have time to make the liquidity budget.
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Download a cash flow budget in excel-spreadsheet from: www.dynamicbusinessplan.com
Financing
Financing means: Where can I get/borrow the money I need for the social enterprise?
First you have to find out how much money you need.
Necessary initial capital:
(Look the establishment budget)
Necessary liquidity:
(Liquidity need is worked out from the liquidity budget)
Total funding needs:
(Establishment + liquidity)
Expectation/commitment to get a loan/grant from:
Owner:
Partners:
Sponsors:
Bank loan:
Overdraft facility:
Total funding:
Loan guarantee:
Name, address
Investment funding (buildings/machinery)
Savings/capital:
Bank loans:
Credit institution loans
Private loans
Other loans
Investors
Grant
Other
Total
Appendices
Enclose appendices important and relevant to the business. E.g. technical specifications or drafts,
written order commitments, references, collaboration etc.
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